The Infinite Loops: Avalice Loops
by MetalVoltEXE
Summary: Freedom Planet joins the Infinite Time Loops. How will Sash Lilac and her friends deal with it?
Welcome to the Infinite Loops! Now you might be wondering, "The Infinite Loops? What's that?" Well here's the short version. The multiverse is broken following a catastrophic event. The only way to fix it is to set the various contents of the entire multiverse into time loops. Naturally, this would affect the world of Avalice. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the insanity. If you want to know more about the Loops, find us over on the SpaceBattles forums. But before I forget:

* * *

 **General Loop Mechanics**

One person in a Loop, often the main character, is an Anchor. They are the person who first starts time looping.

There is always at least one Anchor present in a given Time Loop snippet, though it may not be the local one.

The standard pattern for a loop is that the Anchor (and whoever else is Looping there) come to awareness in a loop at a particular point in the story. From there, events will play out as influenced by the Loopers present, acting with the benefit of their foreknowledge, until either a predetermined end point is reached or all the Loopers have copped it.

To be Awake is to be aware of the time loops (that is, to have gone back in time this time.)

The Anchor is the only character guaranteed to be Awake. Even after others have started looping, it is mostly random as to whether they will be Awake this particular loop.

Crossovers, fusions, and alternate pasts can also take place. It is perfectly possible, for example, to have the characters Awaken into a loop which conforms to a fanfic universe rather than reality.

Loops do not have to be in chronological order, but it is strongly preferred that they not require a mutually contradictory order (where A must be before B and B must be before A.)

Just about every Looper is very, very stir crazy.

* * *

And that's it. Now to properly begin the tale, with the Awakening of Sash Lilac.

NOTE: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

[NiGHTcapD]

Lilac wasn't sure what the heck was going on when she found herself back in Dragon Valley with Carol. "Uh...Carol?"

"Yeah?"

"Call me crazy, but do you know a girl named Milla?"

"Uh..."

"Torque ring any bells? Or Brevon?"

"Uh...no. You're kinda weirding me out right now, Lilac." And then Torque's plane got shot down right past them, and the dragon didn't hesitate. "Where are you going?"

"I gotta go help him! Just trust me, I gotta go-"

"WAIT! Can't you be Little Miss Heropants some other time?"

"I kinda already have!" And with that, she boosted towards the crash site.

"Fine, I'll go by myself. Yipee...woohoo." _I wonder what's gotten into her...but it's not like I can get her to back down. I'll ask her when she's done playing hero._ *boom* *boom* "Eek! I better help!"

* * *

[MV_GespenstNacht ( "MetalVoltEXE")]

While dashing away in the grand scenery of Dragon Valley, Lilac began to relax just a little bit. Oh she couldn't get too relaxed, not with a soon-to-be friend's life on the line, but still the feeling of running at breakneck speeds calmed her. It had been a few minutes since she sped ahead of Carol, but she knew that the wildcat would catch up to her in due time. While running, the dragon girl had a few things going through her head.

 _Okay Lilac, so you're somehow back here where things took an eventful turn. Torque's a bit ahead and probably being held at blaster-point by Viper-Breath. All you have to do is get past that mechanical serpent, thing. Save Torque from getting turned into a target dummy, and keep out of sight until Serpentine gives up and looks elsewhere. Just focus and you'll be fine. You took out Brevon himself, after facing his army in his ship, and saved Avalice. Doing this again will is a piece of cake compared to that._

The plan was simple; perhaps Lilac could even get there before General Serpentine, Lord Brevon's right-hand reptile, could get his trigger-fingers on the unfortunate Chaser. However, Lilac was slightly lost in her thoughts as she had yet to notice that she was near the bottom of the valley. She then felt something odd in the ground.

 _Okay...what was that? Hang on, isn't there something..._

Soon erupting out of the ground was a robotic snake coated in purple with some extra plate armor in yellow. It opened its mouth and spat a fireball at the Avalician Water Dragon. She gracefully dodged it and took a battle stance.

 _Shoot, there's that thing right on schedule. Though I wonder if I can take it out here and now; then I can save myself a bit of trouble in a bit._

She then curled into a ball with her hair-like tendrils and launched herself at the thing. Her Dragon Boost was greatly effective on the robo-beast, cleanly shredding off several of the armor plates. It growled in dissatisfaction and then charged at Lilac.

 _Too slow._

She nimbly got out of its way just enough, then she slashed at it with her tendrils and kicked it. A few of each dislodged the remaining armor. It knew that it was no match for the Dragon at this point, and then began to flee much like it did before. Unfortunately for it, that would not be very far at all. Lilac performed another Dragon Boost, colliding with the escaping machine and began to tear the thing apart. In mere moments, Lilac had reduced the snake mech into nothing but smoldering metal.

Lilac smirked, confident in her job well-done.

 _Well glad that's taken care of, that thing won't be bothering us later. Now to get going and save Torque._

Boosting once more, she quickly fled the site of battle. She had a job to do, and she was determined to make sure that certain events _would_ go much better than before.

Getting through the lower part of the valley was easy for Lilac. She was able to detour the part where the rolling boulder trap was and was now mere decimeters away from the crash site. However, Torque wasn't the only one there. Another green-ish figure soon approached, he was a snake with a bronze-looking chest piece with two mechanical arms. This was General Serpentine, and he had his favorite firearms ready to vaporize.

 _Darn it, still too late. Well best not make myself known…yet._

She then quickly and stealthily climbed a nearby tree, keeping her out of Serpentine's sight.

"Well, well. Such a pity your ship's down Commander. Oh well, works for me. Now hands up, step aside, and don't try anything funny." The snake snarked.

Torque, in his "shell-duck" disguise, sighed and promptly complied. From the tree, Lilac knew this to be the smart choice here. It would prove to be helpful to them both in a few moments.

"Oh very good, now then let's get down to business. Where are the others?" The snake demanded.

"Other who?" Replied Torque.

"Oh don't you play games with me duckling, you know exactly what I'm talking about. How many Chasers are there left? You very well can't be the only one."

"Well for a start, you didn't say please."

Up in the treetops, Lilac was doing her best to suppress a laugh at that. Serpentine was extremely dangerous, but at the same time he was just so fun to mess with.

"Oh please, li…" Serpentine started to say.

"Now that's much better General. I might be just a bit more willing to talk after that."

"What…Grroowphffsssrrghhh! I've had just about enough of this. Now tell me right now what I want to know Commander, or I'll blast you here and now!"

"Fine, be that way." Torque than retracted himself into his shell. This was the last straw for the reptilian general.

"TTSSSHHHAAAA! Oh where is that blasted snake mount when I need it. On second thought never-mind, I'll just do this the hard way, hard for you but ever so fun for me."

With that Serpentine whipped out his blasters and began wildly firing at Torque. The thick shell seemed to be fine taking the punishment, but the snake was not letting up. Soon Torque was shot up into the tree where Lilac was hiding. Serpentine let up just then, apparently his blasters needed to cool down a bit. Lilac then quickly but stealthily grabbed Torque and put him on a safe branch.

"Stay here." She whispered to the so-called shellduck.

"Gwhahaaaaa! I can do this all day!" Serpentine laughed from below, not noticing his target had been taken from him.

 _Now what to do about Serpentine, no doubt he'll be looking here for a while now. Carol should be showing up very soon. I don't want her to get seen by him just yet, it'd get me found out and her turned into mincemeat. Hmm…now that I think about it, he's in a pretty good position. If I can drop down on him right then we can get out of here without him the wiser._

Lilac had a plan now. Serpentine just needed to move ever so slightly to the left. Seconds later, the snake-man moved just as Lilac had hoped. He's not seen her just yet, perfect for her. Lilac then carefully got into a leaping position. Feet were right, crouch was right, angle was spot on.

 _Here goes._

Lilac then took a silent jump, making only a minor adjustment mid-air. Serpentine had just realized something as she did so.

"Huh? Now where did that little cowa…URGPGH!"

Lilac had landed her left foot square on the back of Serpentine's head. He dropped hard. Lilac then brought her foot around and gave the snake a hard kick to the forehead. If he wasn't knocked out by the fall, then he surely would be after that hit.

"Well glad that worked out well. By the time he wakes up, we'll be long and gone." Lilac said silently to herself.

Behind her, something dropped. Turning around, she saw Torque standing up from the fall.

"Whoo…that was a close one. Thank you Miss…ummm." Torque began, stopping as he did not know the name of his savior.

"Lilac." The dragon replied.

"Miss Lilac, thank you." He kneeled in regards.

Soon the sound of a petroleum engine were heard, Lilac knew this sound well. Carol, on her red motorcycle soon appeared over a few rocks. The wildcat braked and cut the engine, jumping toward her best friend.

"There you are Lilac. I swear every time you decide to go and be …Uh…what's with this guy?" Carol says as she gestures down to the unconscious form of Serpentine.

"Eh, he was giving this guy some trouble. I had to knock some sense into him. Anyways, you've been following me the whole time; haven't you."

"Duh."

"I take it you know this guy?" Torque said.

"Girl," Carol corrected. She seemed slightly annoyed at that.

"This girl, sorry about that." Torque apologized.

Lilac held an inner laugh at that. Torque had made the same mistake as the last time she remembered.

 _Well if I were an alien and just met Carol, then I might have been off too given how she is. Though you'd think her voice would be a giveaway._

Lilac then spoke up again. "She's like my tail! Always right behind me. We've been best friends since… forever."

Carol give a playful smirk and put her hands on her hips. "Carol the Wildcat, at your service! AndthisisLilac."

"Well I'm Torque. I'm a, uhhh…, shell-duck." He introduced with a delay at the end.

 _Yeah kinda can't just up and say; "Hi there, I'm an alien!" can you._ Lilac thought. She figured to best play along.

"A shell-duck?"

"Well, it's actually more of a nickname. I'm not exactly from around here."

Lilac gave a nod. She then turned to face Carol. "Well we better get out of here before this guy wakes up." She pointed at Serpentine. "What do ya say we take him back to the treehouse? We can talk without any trouble there."

Carol sighed. "Oh fine." She then got closer to Lilac and whispered, "As soon as we're done talking to him, you're telling me just why you've been acting all crazy-like today. I know I call you out on being Little Miss Heropants all the time, but today's the worst I've ever seen. Seriously, you're starting to really freak me out with it."

Lilac sighed and replied. "Sure, now let's get going."

Carol then got on her bike, motioned for Torque to get on behind her. The three then sped off toward another part of the valley. As they traveled to the treehouse, Lilac wondered just how she could convince Carol that she wasn't insane, and that she had somehow seen things that had happened or would happen.

* * *

The run to Lilac's treehouse had been rather uneventful and silent compared to earlier in day. Lilac had given a good deal of thought on an important matter, namely how she was going to explain the fact that she knew of what was coming in the next few days to Carol. Soon enough, they came across a grouping of trees. In the center was a modest looking house up in the branches of a large tree. Carol and herself had been living here for quite some time after leaving a group known as the Red Scarves for... reasons. Lilac decided that now was a good time to ask an important question, even though she knew the answer already.

"So Torque, what brought you all the way out here? Especially considering that the skies haven't been safe for a while now."

Torque turned toward the dragon and replied in a determined voice, "Someone is about to steal the Kingdom Stone. I have to stop them."

 _And the plot thickens._ "The Kingdom Stone? That's Impossible!" She replied. The Kingdom Stone was a very important and powerful relic. It was responsible for providing energy for the three kingdoms of Shang Tu, Shang Mu, and Shuigang and their immediate surrounding areas; including Dragon Valley. Removing the Stone from its resting place was said to bring about very bad things for the planet.

 _And I know exactly who's responsible, but I can't do anything about it without getting arrested, labeled completely insane, or killed right now. Some luck I have._

"Yeah, only I could steal it!" Carol responds in pride.

Lilac was not amused by her friend's choice of words. "Pfff, you wish."

"Well it's already happening. Mayor Zao is sending troops in disguise to the ancient temple. I have to warn them!" Torque said.

Mayor Zao was the... eccentric... leader of Shang Mu. The city was a well-known commerce port and under Zao's "leadership" had grown greatly in recent years. This lead to a problem. The city's supply of energy couldn't meet the demand of the growing port for long. Combined with possible supply tampering, most likely Brevon's fault, and Zao was convinced to use drastic measures. He's commissioned the Red Scarves, most notably a lethal panda named Spade, to assist in retrieving the Stone from the temple near Shang Tu.

"Carol and I are pretty fast. We could run over there and warn them for you." Lilac replied.

"Seriously?" Torque asked, surprised that they would do this.

"Yup! I've got a motorcycle and she's a dragon! They're like, super-fast!" Carol chipped in.

Lilac smirked. "Darn straight!"

"Well...It's worth a shot! Please hurry over there, before it's too late!" Torque said.

"What about you though?" Carol asked.

"I'll catch up to you two as soon as I find my lost gear. We're gonna need it."

Lilac nodded. "Right! C'mon Carol! We've got a Stone to save!"

The two quickly sped off. Part of the way out though, Carol motioned to Lilac.

"Get on, you owe me an explanation. Now looks as good a time as any." She said.

"Alright, but you're not gonna like it." Lilac replied as she gently hopped on the motorcycle. The two remained silent for a moment.

 _Okay, here goes nothing._ "So you want to know why I mentioned a few names that we've never heard of before, one of them being the guy we just saved." Lilac began.

"Yeah, you took off being Miss Heropants as usual; but those names and stuff didn't seem like you at all. You got Torque right on the ball there, and we haven't met him until just a bit ago. That's...kinda creepy. So how did you know?" Carol replied, worry in her voice.

"This'll sound weirder still, but... we've kinda already did all this. Rescuing Torque, heading to the temple to help save the Kingdom Stone, and a bunch of other things. I don't know how, but sometime after doing all that I just sort of...blanked out. Next thing I know, I'm back at the valley with you right when Torque got shot down."

"Uh...huh." Carol said, her voice seemed a bit dumbfounded.

 _Yup, definitely thinks I'm nuts._ Lilac thought. "Yeah it sounds crazy to me, but that's the honest truth Carol. I don't know why this happened. All I know is...I can't let some things go like they did before. There are a few times then, and well ahead, that caused us, and me, to almost lose it for good. I almost lost myself, I almost lost Torque, I almost lost Milla, and I almost lost _you_." Lilac was starting to majorly tear-up at this point. "Some of it came from me being irresponsible, for being 'Miss Heropants'. Others not so much, it would have happened anyways. It was basically darned if I do, darned if I don't. I dealt with it once, I'm not sure if I could again. I know you're expecting me to say what happened, but for those...I just can't. It's..."

Lilac couldn't hold it at this point; the thoughts of Carol leaving her after Torque's kidnapping, the torture, Milla getting turned into a monster and fighting her, Milla almost _dying_ as a result of that fight, and then confronting Lord Brevon himself. It was too much at once. Carol knew that this was really getting to her best friend. She gently put the brakes on the motorcycle and slowly halted. She dropped the kickstand and turned to face Lilac.

"It's okay Lilac, calm down. I'm sorry for dragging this out of ya. I just... was worried about you. In all the time I've known you, you've hardly ever gave out like this. I'll admit, this stuff sounds way crazy and hard to believe. But for what it's worth Lilac, I do believe you." Carol replied gently.

"Wha...what?"

"You heard me, you're my best friend. Why would you lie to me about something as crazy as this? Granted I am a bit skeptical on it because you gotta admit - this _is_ pretty out there - but you sound very sure of what's coming and have pretty much been on the dot since we met Torque. It's okay, I'm here. Now, why don't you think on something a bit less bothersome and tell me what's going to happen when we get to the temple. If you know what's going on, then we can both be better prepared for it." Carol smiled as she concluded.

"Carol...thank you. You don't know just how much that means to me."

"No prob Lilac, that's what best friends are for." The wildcat smirked kindly.

"Okay, now about the temple. From what my memory tells me, Zao's troops come crashing through the gates in an armored truck. This is just after we try convincing the guards, namely General Gong and Neera, about the incoming attack. As you'd expect from those two, they kinda don't believe us until it happens."

"Yup, I can totally see that with those two. What else?"

"Well we end up having to go through the temple, and then we find the trucks taking a few large gems and stop them just before the entrance to the Kingdom Stone's chambers. Now when we get to the Stone itself, Spade...takes it."

"Spade? He's involved in this? Let me guess, Zao promised buttloads of cash for pulling it off."

"Not exactly, but he's... slightly harder to explain now. I'll get to him later. Anyways, hightails it out of there with the stone; forcing us to fight some giant praying-mantis thing. We win, but a cave-in happens causing us to get separated. This is... one of the parts where I almost lost you."

"Okay, so what happened after that?"

"Well I make it out of there, and then I start looking for you. I'd hoped that you'd found another way out. A bit later I hear you shout, we run toward each other, I note that you have a bloody ear. Yeah, sorry that you didn't come out unscathed in that. You mention that someone with some sort of shield pulled you out of the rubble. Next thing you hear with your good ear is something following us. You pounce, and then we met Milla."

"Ah, so this Milla person saved me eh. Well sounds like quite the guy."

"Actually, you mean girl."

"Oh, oops."

"Heh, guess the karma's coming around on ya."

"Okay, okay. Well this really helps us plan things out. Thanks a lot Lilac. Whatever happened to ya is going to save our skins I bet. Now let's get going to that gate."

Lilac nodded as she got off the motorcycle. "You bet."

The best friends then resumed their mission. Lilac was a lot more confident now that she had Carol's backing in this.

 _Not again, I'm sure as heck not going to let those things happen again. Carol believes me, so maybe if I can get Torque and Milla to believe me as well; then just maybe... we can really put Brevon and his army out for good. Oh that'd be great._

Putting the thoughts aside, she ran against Carol's motorcycle. "Hey Carol, I think I've got an idea."

"Eh, what's that?"

"Forget warning Gong and Neera. Let's try to take out the trucks before they breach the gates. I bet stopping them in their tracks will really get their attention."

"Oh... because they won't believe us anyways, might as well try to nip it in the bud. Heh, I like that idea. Let's do it."

"Thought so, let's go to the left ahead and try to ambush them."

"Righty-o, one truck butt-whooping coming up."

The two did so; soon the Shang Mu trucks came into view. There wasn't much time.

"Alright Carol, ready?"

"Heck yeah, let's do this."

Lilac nodded. Then the two sped ahead, yelling a sort of battle cry.

"YYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

* * *

Approaching the ancient temple of the Kingdom Stone, one Shang Mu soldier felt both dirty and proud for being a part of the operation. He knew well of the legends that surrounded the mysterious artifact; and, more important to his situation, the myths of disasters to come should it be disturbed. Planetary destruction and dark days were not something he wanted to occur. Then again, surely those were just myths meant to keep the Stone in place.

 _Besides, Mayor Zao is counting on us to get that Stone. If we succeed, then Shang Mu's saved. His mayorship will surely reward us for a job well-done. I could use a bonus._

"Hey soldier, what's going on ahead?" asked the soldier's superior.

"Uh...not much yet Sir." He quickly brought up a pair of binoculars. "The temple gates are just ahead. I don't see...eh? Hold that last Sir, two objects just turned up ahead."

"What in the heck is it?"

"One looks like a green feline on a motorcycle and the other's some kind of lizard...no...It's... a dragon!" The soldier had heard rumors of there being some kind of dragon girl around the area. She and a feline accomplice had been responsible for quite a few "incidents" in the area in the past few years.

"And here things were going so well. Rally up men, we've got trouble!" The officer yelled. His call came too late, as the dragon and wildcat now jumped aboard and skid to a halt.

"Alright fellas, the jig is up! Either stop this thing or suffer a major butt-whooping." Carol demanded.

"Fat chance thief. You're messing with the Shang Mu Guard. We came here to pay our respects to the Kingdom Stone on behalf of Mayor Zao. Handing you two over to the Magister would make for a good parting gift. We know about your acts around here, don't try to fool us."

"Pff, oh fool us. We know you were after the Stone. Don't try and hide it. You want to fight a dragon and a wildcat, and then don't blame us when you lose."

"Enough of this, CHARGE!" The Shang Mu soldiers didn't hesitate to do so.

Carol took to the offensive with her sharp claws. The soldiers were brave, but too slow for her. Her rapid claws whipped the weapons out of their hands like lightning. She then swiftly knocked each soldier out. Lilac and Carol had very strict guidelines when it came to fighting, they would fight to knock out or force their opponents to yield. One thing they would _never_ do is kill. That was the reason they left the Red Scarves in the first place, they couldn't associate themselves with a group of murderers. Her current task finished, she turned to see how Lilac was doing. The dragon had dealt with her fair-share of enemies too. She was currently fighting the commander of the forces. Lilac was doing fine so Carol decided to put the brakes on the truck.

 _Now how to do that?_ She climbed up to the cab and saw that the engine ahead was completely exposed to attack.

 _Perfect._

She prepared herself for a pounce. Carol leapt and slashed hard with a Wild Claw. The engine shuddered a bit. She then transitioned into multiple swift kicks. The engine kept shuddering more, and more. Finally, it began to smoke and clank loudly. She leapt clean into the air, back toward the fight. The engine then exploded as the remaining combatants looked over toward the wildcat.

"Heh, piece of cake. Looks like you guys aren't taking the Kingdom Stone today." Carol taunted.

"GGRRRRRR! How dare you interfere in the plans of our great leader!" The officer spoke. "When I'm through with you..." He didn't get to finish as a tendril wrapped around the back of his head.

"Okay you, here's how this is going to go. You tell us just what Zao's planning with the Kingdom Stone, and you won't have to explain this to General Gong. I'm sure he's just dying to know what the heck is going on here." Lilac replied.

"Oh you bet I do!" A deep, gruff voice shouted. Approaching the armored vehicle was a large armored panda with a circular shield on his back that was a large as his midsection. This was General Gong of Shang Tu, a kind soldier once you got to know him. However, you never wanted to get on his bad side as he was a fierce warrior who would not give up.

"Oh, General Gong." Lilac released the Shang Mu soldier as she and Carol gave a bow to the General.

"Oh, it's you two. Just what sort of trouble are you up to now?" Gong asked.

"We had to stop these people from entering the temple. We received warning that they were here to steal the Kingdom Stone." Lilac answered.

"What, steal the Kingdom Stone? Oh don't be silly. Nothing gets by my nose. And the Shang Mu troops were here to pay their respects to the Stone as per Mayor Zao's request, which was granted. Though I must admit, an armored truck does seem a bit much for just a visit."

The Shang Mu commander then piped up. "Oh thank you for coming General. These two are lying, _they_ are here for the stone and decided to rob us and destroy our vehicle just for kicks! Arrest them at once."

"That's a load of bull!" Carol spat at the soldier. "You really think that we'd be stupid enough to steal that!?"

"We meant no disrespect General gong, but us just coming to warn you felt like a lost cause. My friend and I felt that you wouldn't believe us if we did just tell you. So we decided to try and stop them before it was too late."

"Lies, all lies." The commander shouted. "Arrest them! ARREST THEM!"

"Enough!" Gong shouted. "This bickering is pointless." He started.

"Right General, Spade's here too." Lilac stated in urgency. "Our source stated that he was commissioned to assist in taking the Stone. He's probably on his way there now."

"What? So the Scarves are involved too?" He turned toward the Shang Mu soldier. "Anything you have to say on the matter?"

"Of course I do you fool. These two criminals are lying to your face. Mayor Zao would never resort to hiring low-lives like the Red Scarves even just to scrub the street floors."

"Yeah, calling Gong a fool is really going to help you here." Carol snarked.

"Why you trashed up fur-ball!" He shouted in rage. " Just as soon as we're done here, I'm going to tie your tail in a..."

"Excuse me, but done with what?" Lilac slyly asked.

"Claiming the Stone of..." He stopped.

"What was that?" Gong asked. He was very interested in what the loud-mouthed commander had just uttered in rage.

"I said 'claiming damages for your treacherous actions' of course." He snarked.

"That's not what I heard, you General?" Lilac asked. The ploy had worked, get him fired up, and then he'd spill the beans.

"Indeed, I thought I heard him say something along the lines of 'Claim the Stone', now that wouldn't be the case here and I'm just getting old and can't hear things properly. Right?" He stated in a tone that would scare most.

The Shang Mu commander slunk at that. He of all people knew how General Gong could get when ticked off. This was essentially a final warning. He had to play this carefully.

"I wouldn't say that exactly good General. I do believe your hearing's just fine. However, I do think the recent explosion might have lessened its good abili..."

 _rrrruuummmbbbbleeeee_

"Uh...what was that? Carol asked.

 _Oh no, it couldn't be._ "General Gong, I suggest we put this conversation on hold for the time-being. I've got a very bad feeling that something's going on in the Stone's chambers."

"Hmmm... I share that young one. I've not seen Priestess Neera for a bit too. She may need assistance. All of you, follow me."

Lilac, Carol, and the Shang Mu commander complied. The later of the group looking awful nervous. Soon the four were making their way through the ancient temple and heading toward the shaft that would take them to the Kingdom Stone's chambers.

* * *

It was a mostly silent trip down into the crystal chambers of the Kingdom Stone's temple. Carol was fixated on the beautiful, and very much valuable, gemstones and crystals that adorned the walls of the welcoming chambers. General Gong was as stern and silent as ever, though he seemed to be more alert than usual to the surroundings. The Shang Mu commander began to show more signs of nervousness the farther they went along.

 _Then again, we are getting closer to the truth. That would be bad news for him now wouldn't it._ Lilac though. _Then again, Gong seems to be more on edge than usual. Not to mention there's an awful lot of machines and mutants here that wouldn't normally be._

Just then, two bat-like mutants swooped in above the group. They whooshed downward toward the dragon-girl, who skillfully side-stepped the attack and countered with her Dragon Cyclone. A few hits later rendered the two bat-like monsters flight of terror.

"Well done. Anyone harmed from that?" Gong asked.

Lilac looked to her wildcat friend, who simply nodded. She then turned around to face the large panda.

"Carol and I are fine, though thanks for asking. Him on the other hand," she gestured toward the Shang Mu soldier, "I'm not so sure about."

"Oh don't mind me, just a little roughed up from the ruffians. I'll live. Though I have to say, just how many of these things are there down here for security? It's ridiculous!" The commander stated loudly.

"You have a good point, we make sure there are plenty of security machines down here, but half of these at least are not that I assure you. I can honestly say between that, and the fact we've yet to find the Priestess worry me."

"Right, let's press on." Lilac declared.

The others agreed and the group proceeded onward. Traveling deeper into the crystal-laced caverns, they soon came across a circular stone door. General Gong pressed a nearby switch, which caused the door to retract. Past the doorway were two passageways, one with a red gemstone decorating the top on the right and one with a green gemstone adorning the top of the left passage. In the center was what appeared to be a wall with a green gem on the left, and a red one on the right.

"Oh no, the passageway to the Stone's chamber has been sealed!" Gong exclaimed.

"Let me guess, this wall's actually a door and leads to the Kingdom Stone. So how do we open it?" Carol stated and asked.

"You're a sharp one. To open the door, a gemstone lamp down each of the other two passageways must be lit. There's a button for downing so located at the ends, but getting there and back will not be easy. Each passage has a trial to overcome, this was meant as a final safeguard for unwanted guests. Now it seems to be the very thing keeping us from getting to the Stone."

"We'd better hurry then, I hope the Priestess is alright. She could be trapped in the chamber with Spade." Lilac stated.

"Don't underestimate her, she's got some very powerful fighting ability and great cunning. Now I know spade's good, but she can hold her own for a while. Though I do still worry, as this is Spade as you've said. He will not be easy." Gong said.

"All the more reason to get on with it. You and this guy stay here. I'll take the left passage, and Lilac can go right. We're the fastest two here, so we can get it done ASAP."

Lilac nodded. "Good luck Carol, and be careful."

The wildcat smirked, "No problem, be back soon." She then took off into the left passage.

Right, there's no time to lose. Here I go. Lilac thought as she went into the right passage.

* * *

 _There's some light up ahead, some trial this is. I haven't seen anything yet._ Thought Carol Tea as she proceeded through the passageway.

A rumbling noise soon vibrated through the tunnel.

 _Eh? What's that noise for?_

She pressed on toward the end. As she stepped toward the light she looked down to set some sort of platform lowering, sounds of crunching machine parts and shattering stone could be loudly heard.

"Well, sucks to be them. Heh, better for me." She thought aloud.

She jumped down toward the lowering platform, there was nothing protruding that would harm her. She rode it down a little more until it suddenly stopped. Across from the platform was a gray stone button with a green sphere above it and a green gem directly below the sphere.

 _That must be the thing that opens the door. This is such a piece of cake!_

She ran over and pushed both her paws against the stone button. It moved slowly until after a few seconds she heard it click. Light shown from the green sphere and met the gemstone. This continued on for a few seconds. Suddenly, a bright flash of light caused Carol to shield her eyes. When the bright light faded, the room was much brighter than it was previously, not to mention that the gen gemstone was now glowing.

"Nothing to it, chalk up another one for the awesome Carol T…eh?" She was interrupted in her victory chant by yet more rumbling.

Walking back toward the platform, she saw something rise out of it in multiple locations. Soon, the entire platform was covered in deadly spikes.

 _Oh…so that's what he meant by "challenges there and back". Better take this carefully._

More rumbling occurred, then the platform started to rise.

 _Oh crap! Never-mind that, I've gotta move._

She steeled herself for a great leap, she had to make this one to the nearest wall or she'd be toast. She took a deep breath, and leapt toward the wall. High over the spikes she went, as she traveled, she lowered just a bit.

 _Oh no, not here. I can't die here, please make it Carol. MAKE IT!_

She suddenly felt herself press against the wall. She made it, but the platform was still rising. She wasted no more time climbing up the wall. Moving as fast as her feet and paws could, she scaled the stone wall. The spiked platform was ever-so-slowly rising to meet her. She was now roughly a few feet from the top.

 _Almost there, just a little bit more. That's it…now. Push!_

She quickly lifted herself over the edge of the top, and rolled back toward the entranceway. She stopped just a few inches inside the passage. The spiked platform rose behind her. It rose up higher, and then finally stopped with a large slam. Carol stood there with her eyes wide. She had just barely avoided certain death.

"Well…that was…a thing." She said to no-one. In her head though, it was a different story.

 _Ohmygosh, I almost got killed. What the heck am I doing this for!_

She then thought to why they were doing this. Lilac was counting on her, not to mention General Gong, to get that stone button pressed so they could access the Kingdom Stone's chamber and hopefully save it from Spade.

 _That's a good reason to almost get impaled on a moving platform, right?_ She thought with a bit of her usual sarcasm returning. The initial shock of the situation was now starting to withdraw. She slowly started toward the entrance to the death chamber.

 _Oh I am_ so _going to be taking a long nap after this is over. The things Lilac put me in. Oh well, at least my part is done. She'd better have her end good and done by the time I get back there. I am_ not _in the mood to bail her out just yet._

Thoughts of near death aside, Carol ran on back to the passage entrance.

* * *

Lilac stepped into a dimly lit room. Its appearance would suggest that at one point in time, it was a study of sorts. Now here she was, traversing through it to get to the switch at the end and open the door to the Kingdom Stone.

 _Now if I remember correctly, there's not much in this room except for a…_

Something rattled behind her. She turned around and saw a red gem in a pile of bones. The bones were shaking like crazy. Soon, they began to float and combine into some kind of creature.

 _Oh yeah, this thing again. I suppose I could entertain you for a bit._

Lilac got into a battle stance. She awaited the bone creature's first move. It happily complied. Charging forward, it meant to ram the dragon-girl. As expected, Lilac was too quick for it. She moved to the side, and then jumped on its back. The bone head rotated a direct one-eighty degrees, now staring at her.

"Hit me if you can, bone-brain!" she taunted.

The taunt did its work. The bone creature reared its head backwards, and lunged. Lilac immediately jumped off as the creature struck itself in the back and tumbled over.

 _Well that was fun, but I need to end this now._

She curled up into a ball and then launched a Dragon Boost into the bone creature. The impact from the dragon was enough to shatter it instantly. Uncurling, she looked back to see the bones once more scattered about and the red gemstone lying motionless on the ground. She reached down and grabbed the red gem.

"I don't remember taking any souvenirs the last time I did this, so I think this time I'll take you with me." She said to herself as she pocketed the gemstone. "You might come in handy in a bit."

A small rumble resounded nearby. A stone door had just retracted, revealing a stone button with a red sphere above it and a red diamond-shaped gem just below the sphere.

 _Ah, there we are._

She jumped toward the gray button and shoved on it. Light began to pour into the gem from the sphere. A few moments later, a bright flash occurred for a brief moment. Upon clearing Lilac saw that the room was now much brighter than before, and the red gem in front of her was now glowing.

"Alright, now to get back to the others. I hope Carol's alright? I didn't get to warn her about that other passage." She said slightly worried.

For all she knew, her best friend could have been a wildcat stain on a spiked platform floor by now. She hurried back across the room and darted through the passageway.

* * *

"It seems to be taking those two a bit to complete such a simple task, isn't it?" Spoke the Shang Mu commander.

"It hasn't been that long and who knows what's down those passages. I don't even know that. There could be numerous traps of untold horror or monsters that can turn you to stone for all I know. I'm not thrilled to have sent those two down them, but we've no other choice. I just hope they're alright." Gong replied.

"WOOOOHHOOOO! SCORE ONE FOR THE WILDCAT!" Shouted Carol as she ran into the room.

"About time one of you got back. The General and I thought you were dead." The commander replied.

"Pfff, like a few traps and monsters are going to stop a wildcat and a dragon. Seriously, have a little bit of faith in us." Lilac stated, now coming through her passage."

Carol went over to the dragon-girl and whispered sarcastically in her ear. "Yeah, gee thanks about warning me about the spiked room of doom there."

Lilac's mood soured at that. "Sorry Carol, didn't exactly get a moment to mention that bit. At least you made it out alive. You have no idea how relieved I am at that."

"Next time, when something really dangerous comes along that could kill us that we don't know about. For the love of Avalice tell me!"

"Don't worry Carol, I will." As Lilac said that. General Gong spoke to them.

"I'm glad to see you two unharmed now…" Gong started but was interrupted as the two gemstones on the wall behind him suddenly glowed. Then the gems retracted along with a good portion of the wall. The passageway to the Kingdom Stone had been opened.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about. Let's go give Spade a piece of our minds for dragging us through this." Carol declared.

"Darn straight." Lilac agreed. Inwardly however, she was a bit less calm.

 _I hope Neera's doing alright against Spade. I know she's tough, but so is he. If he even gets one card too close then she's done for. If we can hurry and get there; we still might have time to catch him, save Neera, and save the Stone. It'd be nice to not have to fight… oh shoot!_

Lilac got close to Carol and whispered. "Pssst, Carol! About that part on 'Things coming up that can kill us'?"

"Yeah, I know we're probably gonna fight Spade. I know how he is, between the four of us surely he can't win."

"Yeah, it's not Spade I'm trying to tell you about."

"Okay… now you've got my attention. Start talking."

"If Spade manages to get away with the Kingdom Stone, then it'll trigger some kind of monster-guardian to wake up. It's… not pretty.

Oh we managed to take it down between the two of us last time, but it was close."

"Uh-huh, so we just make sure Spade doesn't pilfer the Stone. We've got two, maybe three more people than before. He's as good as caught Lilac. I'm sure of it.

"Well… if you say so." _It's not just the guardian Carol, you almost died from the cave-in last time too. If it weren't for Milla then…_

Lilac wanted to voice that particular concern to her friend, but she wasn't sure how to put it.

"Hey, are you two okay back there?" Gong asked. The two girls had slightly fallen behind as the General and the Shang Mu commander had already started down the passage to the Stone's chambers.

"Sorry General. Just got minorly side-tracked there. We're coming!" Lilac replied.

The two girls started to catch up to the other two members of the group. Carol whispered into Lilacs ear once more. "Here in a minute, remind me to ask for a few details about this monster-guardian, okay."

"Gladly, there's...also something else about what happens after that that I _need_ to tell you about too." She replied.

Carol nodded as the two then finally caught up with the two males. Gong then took the lead as they went continued through the passage.

* * *

Lying before a white-gray panda was an artifact of great beauty and power. This artifact as known to the people of Avalice as the Kingdom Stone. It was responsible for providing power for the three kingdoms of Shang Mu, Shang Tu, and Shuigang. Now here he was, moments away from completing what could be called the greatest heist of all time. His group of thieves and assassins, collectively known as the Red Scarves, had their services sought out by a peculiar client. They were tasked with the extraction of the Stone while said client provided a distraction to the temple's guards. The panda, Spade, knew all too well about how both of the temple's guards were. He knew one of them fairly well from his younger days, as well as the times he's had to evade the same person from previous thefts. There were some doubts about whether this person would interfere on suspicion of there being more to the "distraction" than it would let on.

 _She was always the observant one; hopefully his distraction will be enough to fool her._

Getting thoughts about this person out of his head, he turned to face a subordinate Scarf.

"How long until the claw is ready?" He asked sternly.

"It will be ready for hoisting within 3 minutes," the Scarf replied.

"Make sure it is," Spade stated. The Scarf gave a small bow and dashed away.

Now alone, Spade gave a slight grin at the sign of good news. _I have to say this has gone better than I had hoped. We've had no issue getting to the Stone, apparently our client's distraction is working like a charm, and now we're about ready to slip away with the most important artifact in Avalician history. Oh how I just love it when a plan goes off without a hitch._

Suddenly, a swirl of blue-ish energy appeared from somewhere in the darker parts of the room. Spade back-flipped over the blast as it traveled past him and into a nearby boulder. Said boulder then promptly froze solid. Spade mentally cursed himself for jinxing the run of good luck he'd been having.

 _Of all the times that I'd have to deal with her, why did it have to be now?_

Spade got into a battle stance, readying his signature playing cards for use. His opponent leaped forward from the shadows.

"Hello Miss Priestess, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He said sarcastically.

"Stow it Spade!" Neera replied. "You know exactly why I'm here. Now why don't you be a good boy for once and just come quietly. It's already been a long few weeks; I would appreciate your cooperation _for a change_." She coldly and irritably replied.

"Don't think that I don't know what's going on Neera. I _have_ sources, now if you'll excuse me I have a special delivery to make."

"Lay a hand on the Kingdom Stone, and I'll personally see to it you regret it for the rest of your life." She brought up her Ice Staff, readying to strike the criminal panda.

"Sorry, but I've got a tight schedule; and so does Zao."

"Zao?" Neera did not like that bit of information. "I didn't expect that fool to be behind this, but he can be dealt with later. As for you there's a nice comfy place I've prepared for you, right in the Shang Tu prison."

Spade sighed. "Always the same attitude with you, duty before the big picture. I'm going to have to decline your offer though."

Neera stood her ground, "I won't take 'no' for an answer Spade. Whether you're an ice-cube or not, I'm taking you in."

The two remained still for several minutes, staring each other down. Finally, Spade made a move.

"Fine then, have it your way." He threw two cards at the priestess, who gracefully dodged. Neera responded with another blast of icy energy, which was deflected by a stream of Spade's playing cards. The fight was on.

* * *

"Gong, how much farther now?" Griped the Shang Mu commander. "Surely it's not but a few more feet, because this is getting _ridiculous_."

"Well sorry that the Great Dragon decided that it was necessary to have the Stone this deep. Besides, it _isn't_ much farther now until we get there." He replied.

Behind the two, Lilac subtly nodded.

 _And then we get to hopefully drive off Spade and fight a giant monster. I just hope that we can all make it out without a problem this time._

Carol, who was right beside Lilac, then stopped. The wildcat crouched slightly; Lilac knew what she was doing.

"What's wrong Carol, do you hear something?" the dragon asked her best friend.

"Yeah, there's something going on up ahead. Sounds like a good fight."

"Curses!" General Gong declared. "We may already be too late."

"Maybe for stopping the fight from starting, but sure as heck not too late to give her back-up. Come on Carol, let's get going!" Lilac declared. As if to emphasize her point, she promptly Dragon Boosted on ahead.

"Ooooohhhmmmhh! Lilac!" Carol fumed. "Sometimes I really don't get why she does this! One of these days she's going to get stuck in a spot that I can't bail her out of. Does she even realize what's she's doing to me!"

"I take it this happens often with you two?" Gong asked. In her rant, Carol had forgotten that she wasn't exactly alone.

"Yeah, kinda." She sighed. "Well she does have a point I guess. Let's get moving."

Carol ran on ahead, followed as closely as possible by Gong. Bringing up the rear was the Shang Mu commander, who was starting to get really nervous at this point.

* * *

Speeding on head, Lilac was the first of the group to enter the chamber. Darkness surrounded a lit area in the center of the room. Placed on a rather modest pedestal was a spherical object that glowed with a sparkly white hue. The Kingdom Stone was still where it should be. That was a great relief. Just beyond it, though, were two pandas. The female one looked to be having some trouble against the male. They both looked to be getting tired, but Lilac knew that the young assassin had a few good tricks up his sleeve.

 _Shoot, Neera held out pretty good against Spade, but now they're both getting tired. That's the prime time for him to pull off that move. I gotta get in there or Neera's getting a card to the throat._

Lilac's intuition was right, as Spade soon spoke.

"As fun as this has been playing with you Neera, it's time to end this."

"Agreed, now freeze!" Neera shot yet another blast of energy at the criminal. He passed under the attack and responded with three more cards directed at her feet. She jumped over two of the cards and slashed the third with her staff. As she landed, Spade had her where he wanted. He dashed to her left, an ace of spades at the ready. Neera's eyes widened as she realized this could very well be her end. It never came as a purple blur tackled Spade at the last second, knocking the card out of his hand and stunning him momentarily. He quickly recovered and searched for his new attacker. Now standing in front of Neera was Lilac.

"You're not taking a life today, Spade!" She spat at him.

"What are _you_ doing here," Spade spat lowly back.

"Trying to get jerks like you away from something as important as the Kingdom Stone. Just what in the heck do you think you're doing Spade!?"

"Nothing that a traitor like you would understand."

"I'd rather be called a traitor than a murderer." A voice spoke behind Lilac.

Suddenly Carol jumped into position beside her friend, ready for action. General Gong followed in shortly, making a bee-line for Neera.

"Are you alright?" He asked the panda girl,

"I'm fine Gong. I'm glad that you brought some reinforcements." She then turned her attention to Spade once more.

"Say, where'd that big-mouthed little guy go?" Carol asked.

"Huh? He was just behind me." Gong looked around himself, but he couldn't find any trace of the Shang Mu commander.

"Nevermind that for now, focus on the problem at hand." Neera stated, focusing their attention back onto the criminal panda.

"I don't have time to deal with you all. So I'm going to have to call a rain check on this." Spade snarked.

"No can-do." Gong replied.

"Face it Spade, you're outmatched four to one. Just surrender already."

Suddenly, the Kingdom Stone shook. It then was lifted away by the claw that seemed to have been forgotten about.

"No!" Lilac shouted as she charged ahead to grab the Stone. However, Spade intercepted her with a punch. Lilac evaded it, but Spade grabbed onto the bottom of the claw.

"Farewell, for now."

He soon disappeared skyward, with the Kingdom Stone in tow.

"No! Dang it! Dang it all!" Lilac was furious, once again she had failed to prevent the theft of Avalice's most treasured artifact.

"You tried your best young one. Perhaps we can catch them above-ground before they can truly get away." Gong assured.

"Worth a shot, let's go." Carol said in reply. The wildcat put her hand out to Lilac. "Come on Miss HeroPants, it's not over yet."

Lilac reluctantly accepted the kind gesture of her friend. _I couldn't save it, again. Some hero I'm turning out to be. Next thing I'll let Carol... OH SH...!_

"Carol!"

What Lilac? The wildcat asked confused at Lilac's tone. "Something wrong."

"It's coming Carol, _that!_ "

"What is _this_ that you're referring to?" Neera asked, now noticing the delay from Lilac and Carol.

"That? Well what the heck is _that_ supposed to...Huh?"

A series of rumbles then shook the chamber. A large shadow then dropped from the ceiling.

"Oh crap! Scatter!" Carol yelled. Everyone complied.

The giant figure dropped mere feet away from the location the four had just occupied. It was a gray mantis-like monster.

"Oh...giant-praying-mantis-thing. Yeah, I did kinda forget that you told me about that. Sorry Lilac." Carol said to the dragon.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Gong replied, not hearing the two young girls as he and Neera were on the opposite side of the monster.

Carol then gave a smirk to Lilac. "Well, you said that just the two of us took this thing down before. Then I guess we'll just have to do it again. Since we have General Gong and Neera with us this time, it'll be a piece of cake."

"I hope so, I really do." Lilac replied.

The four took to battle stances, as the creature then made its first move.

"GGRROOOOOWWWWRRRLLLLLL"

* * *

AN: Special thanks to NiGHTcapD for all grammatical edits and several suggestions. I would also like to thank Slightly Dazed Bystander for the suggestion of fleshing out Carol's thoughts during the spike pit scene.


End file.
